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SELF Magazine: Fashion, Workouts, Beauty, Recipes, Fitness Tips and MoreSun, 02 Aug 2015 14:00:08 +0000en-UShourly1The Truth About Post-Baby Bodieshttp://www.self.com/wellness/health/2015/07/post-baby-body-pictures/
http://www.self.com/wellness/health/2015/07/post-baby-body-pictures/#commentsMon, 27 Jul 2015 19:00:02 +0000http://www.self.com/?p=1165358From celebrity bump watches to maternity collections by major designers, we live in a world where pregnancy is (thankfully!) seen as stylish and sexy. But what happens to your belly once the baby is born?

]]>Exactly how their bodies will “bounce back” (or not) is something women don’t know until they give birth—and the results aren’t always what they think. While pregnancy books will advise moms-to-be not to pack their skinny jeans in their hospital bag, the post-baby belly in its non-Photoshopped form usually stays behind the curtain.

Until now. New Zealand mom and nutritionist Julie Bhosale decided to blog photos of her belly after she gave birth to her second child. The post chronicles her post-baby belly at various intervals, from 24 hours to fourteen weeks postpartum and has since gone globally viral—inspiring new moms everywhere. “I [thought that] because I was fit and healthy, it should be easy [to get my body back]. However, this was not the case. It did take a while!” Bhosale has said about her inspiration to create the photo series.

Bhosale’s blog post also chronicles a newly burgeoning trend of post-baby body acceptance: The 4th Trimester Bodies Project hosts photo shoots of postpartum women to show how bodies change in pregnancy, motherhood, childhood, and breastfeeding; a #takebackpostpartum Instagram trend asks women to share photos of their post baby bodies; and more public figures aren’t afraid to be photographed immediately after birth (think: Kate Middleton, showing that a flat stomach at hospital discharge is impossible—even for royalty).

Personally, I’m glad there’s more emphasis on what a post baby body looks like—and wish Bhosale’s blog post had been up in the weeks prior to my giving birth. Even though I left the hospital at five pounds below my pre-pregnancy weight, I was amazed at how I still looked five months pregnant after I left the hospital. Even now, three months after birth, I can squeeze into my skinny jeans, but I definitely don’t have the same body as I did prior to giving birth to my daughter, Lucy. Luckily, I have a circle of new-mom friends who are as comfortable comparing notes about stretch marks as they are with infant sleeping tricks, and for that, I’m thankful. And while I’m definitely planning on getting started with a post-baby workout plan now that my daughter is on some semblance of a schedule, my focus is more on building strength and endorphins—and not trying to reach some pinnacle of perfection that may not even exist.

“I hope to empower moms to take time to recover and nourish from the inside out—with both good food and love,” Bhosale has said about her project. Sounds like the perfect plan to us.

]]>http://www.self.com/wellness/health/2015/07/post-baby-body-pictures/feed/0Yes, Women Are Drinking More These Days. Why?http://www.self.com/wellness/health/2015/07/women-are-drinking-more/
http://www.self.com/wellness/health/2015/07/women-are-drinking-more/#commentsSat, 25 Jul 2015 13:30:51 +0000http://www.self.com/?p=1165219Trainwreck hilariously depicts some sobering news: Alcohol consumption is on the rise among educated professional women. And in a high-pressure culture where workdays can end in rounds of drinks, collegial boozing is creating some tricky situations.

]]>The post Summer Survival Toolkit: Quick Fixes for Blisters, Burns and Bites appeared first on SELF.
]]>http://www.self.com/wellness/health/2015/07/summer-survival-toolkit-quick-fixes-blisters-burns-bites/feed/0What Really Happens When You Detoxhttp://www.self.com/wellness/health/2015/06/can-you-really-detox/
http://www.self.com/wellness/health/2015/06/can-you-really-detox/#commentsSun, 28 Jun 2015 12:00:36 +0000http://www.self.com/?p=1161927Your friends obsess about the energy and health boost they feel by getting rid of toxins, but is any of it real?

]]>The post What Really Happens When You Detox appeared first on SELF.
]]>http://www.self.com/wellness/health/2015/06/can-you-really-detox/feed/0Are You “Horizontal Breathing?”http://www.self.com/wellness/health/2015/06/are-you-horizontal-breathing/
http://www.self.com/wellness/health/2015/06/are-you-horizontal-breathing/#commentsThu, 25 Jun 2015 20:00:01 +0000http://www.self.com/?p=1162612Here’s the simple way to tell if you're maximizing each inhale.

When it comes to breathing skills, Belisa Vranich, PsyD doesn’t sugarcoat the truth. “I’d be alarmed if I were you,” she says matter-of-factly after wrapping a measuring tape around my ribs and measuring my vital lung capacity. The good news? I can fix the dysfunctional, shallow way I breathe—and I’m in excellent hands.

While breathing is something we know how to do at birth, Dr. Vranich says that most of have picked up some really bad habits since then.

If, when you inhale, your breath feels like it travels from the bottom of your lungs to the top and your chest and shoulders move upward, you’re a “vertical breather,” like 95 percent of adults (and me!), says Dr. Vranich. That means you only use a fraction of your lungs to take in air, and lift—er, strain—your shoulders and neck.

Your body also associates shallow breaths with stress (think the way you breathe when you feel panicky), sending messages to your brain that raise hormones related to weight gain, poor sleep and more. So you’re essentially stressing out your body.

How to do it right.

Horizontal breath, on the other hand, uses the muscle in your body made for breathing, the diaphragm, and allows you to expand out, filling the biggest part of your lungs with air.

When Dr. Vranich takes a deep breath, for example, her entire abdomen expands outward like a cylindrical balloon being slowly filled with helium, and then deflates until every last drop of air is gone.

For years we’ve seen Viagra commercials that promise better sex lives for men, but we’ve been wondering where the options that address female sexual dysfunction concerns have been. Now, one may be approved as it received backing by a federal advisory committee yesterday after two previous rejections.

That pill is flibanserin (not pictured), a drug developed by Sprout Pharmaceuticals, that claims to boost chemicals in women’s brains that promote arousal, like serotonin and dopamine. It’s the first potential non-hormonal option designed for premenopausal women who have low sexual desire.

Taken nightly before bed, the drug sounds like a no-brainer: we’re all for empowering women to feel more confident everywhere—including the bedroom. But, the issue is more complex than that, as the drug has been rejected twice before. Some say that while a pill that addresses female sexual dysfunction is desired, this particular medication may not be the right drug to approve to accomplish that. And as with most other drugs, there are reported potential side effects including low blood pressure, dizziness and fainting. These side effects were rare in the clinical trials, but they get worse if you drink alcohol or take other medications—like birth control pills or certain medications for vaginal yeast infections—reports The New York Times. Plus, the benefits seen in the trials weren’t as astounding as some would have hoped.

Either way, the drug will be up for final approval in August, and the panel’s recommendation is big push for a yes. However, flibanserin might not be the best option for everyone with low desire. Regardless, any curious women must consult with their doctors about whether this option is right for them, as well as go over any potential safety concerns—if it’s approved, of course.

]]>http://www.self.com/wellness/health/2015/06/female-viagra-pink-flibanserin/feed/0Should You Pass on Plastic?http://www.self.com/wellness/health/2015/06/bpa-free-dangerous-or-not/
http://www.self.com/wellness/health/2015/06/bpa-free-dangerous-or-not/#commentsThu, 04 Jun 2015 18:11:07 +0000http://www.self.com/?p=1160491BPA-free water bottles may not be the answer.

Five years ago, you would have been hard-pressed to find a plastic water bottle that didn’t contain the industrial chemical bisphenol A (BPA). Now it’s next to impossible to find anything but BPA-free bottles. It’s evidence that consumer demand works: When multiple studies tied BPA exposure to health problems such as infertility and obesity, customers balked and manufacturers stopped using it. There’s one problem: Research is starting to suggest that BPA-free plastic bottles may not be as safe as we thought.

In 2009, research from Harvard University showed that college students who consumed most of their beverages from BPA-containing polycarbonate containers had 70 percent more of the chemical in their bodies than when they used stainless-steel bottles. Heat and UV rays cause BPA to leach from the plastic, so whenever we leave a bottle in the sun or put it in the dishwasher, for example, more BPA can potentially make its way into our drinks. And when we continually reuse plastic bottles, we ingest small doses of BPA. That’s why many people are relieved that this chemical has been mostly phased out of water bottles.

Spotting the Chemical Lookalikes

But the chemicals used in place of BPA, such as bisphenol S and F (BPS and BPF, respectively), are molecularly similar to their maligned chemical cousin—and “it’s very likely that two molecules that look similar will have similar biological effects,” explains Laura Vandenberg, PhD, assistant professor of environmental health sciences at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.

And their effects may be starting to show. In a 2011 study, George Bittner, PhD, professor of neurobiology at the University of Texas in Austin, and his colleagues found that almost all of the 455 types of plastic containers they tested (including BPA-free versions) released estrogen-like chemicals. And in 2014, when Danish and Dutch scientists analyzed BPS, BPF, BPE and BPB, they found that all of the chemicals had hormone-like activity. “Despite the fact that these BPA-like chemicals have become the go-to for plastics manufacturers, I think we should definitely be concerned about their safety,” Dr. Vandenberg says—especially considering the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s current position.

Why Women Should Care

Although no studies have yet assessed the direct human health effects of exposure to BPA doppelgangers, they could potentially affect our bodies in a number of ways. First and foremost has to do with fertility. “There have been a number of studies both in animals and humans showing that BPA can damage the quality of a woman’s eggs,” explains Tracey J. Woodruff, PhD, professor and director of the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment at the University of California in San Francisco. “Since some of these replacement chemicals look very similar to BPA, it’s very reasonable to think they might have similar effects,” she adds.

And then there’s some news that has scientists talking: In a study published in January 2015, researchers at the University of Calgary in Alberta found that low doses of BPS disrupted the timing of brain cell development in young fish—even more so than BPA did. This is one of the only studies that has shown BPS to be potentially dangerous, though, and it was conducted in fish, not in humans. Still, the unsettling implication is that exposure to any these chemicals during pregnancy (a time when women are supposed to hydrate like crazy) could affect the development of the fetal brain. “There have been only a handful of papers on BPS, but I think it’s equally bad if not worse than BPA,” says University of Calgary neuroscientist Deborah Kurrasch, PhD, and study author.

So, Should You Pass on Plastic?

While research is ongoing, we can say that it’s definitely not a good idea to microwave any type of plastic, and it’s probably smart to keep plastic bottles out of the sun. Prefer not to worry about the potential pitfalls of plastic? Try one of these water bottles instead. If you’re pregnant, you might want to consider drinking out of something else. But let’s be realistic. “I tend to use glass,” Dr. Woodruff admits, “but it’s not like I never use plastic.”

]]>The post Beat Bloat, Lose Weight, and Feel All-Around Amazing By Making This Change appeared first on SELF.
]]>http://www.self.com/wellness/health/2015/06/beat-bloat-lose-weight-and-feel-all-around-amazing-by-making-this-change/feed/0How Sunscreen Could Protect Your Fertilityhttp://www.self.com/wellness/health/2015/05/how-sunscreen-could-protect-your-fertility/
http://www.self.com/wellness/health/2015/05/how-sunscreen-could-protect-your-fertility/#commentsFri, 29 May 2015 15:59:00 +0000http://www.self.com/?p=1160228The weird connection between the sun's rays and the health of your future children (and grandchildren).

If you’re even thinking of getting pregnant, you’ve probably been told to make sure you’re getting enough folate, the water-soluble B vitamin known to reduce the risk of birth defects and other pregnancy complications. Yet there may be something completely unexpected hampering your ability to get this essential vitamin—something that we’re all embracing with open arms now that summer’s here.

Yep, it’s the sun. There seems to be a weird connection between the amount of UV light you soak up and the health and longevity of your future offspring, according to a study published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology analyzed church records of more than 9,000 people from 1750-1900 that showed all the milestones of life, and compared that data with historical evidence of cycles of solar radiation. They found that on average, the lifespan of children born in years that had a great deal of solar activity (i.e., heavily concentrated UV rays) was 5.2 years shorter than other children. The Norwegian children who were born in the UV-soaked areas, and whose mothers spent a lot of time outside, were much less likely to make it to age two than those children in less UV-saturated parishes.

There are probably many factors at play here, say the study authors, but here’s the one they’re focusing on: While UV radiation can have positive effects on our vitamin D levels, it can also result in a degradation of vitamin B9—aka, folate, which is required for DNA synthesis, rapid cell division and cell growth during pregnancy. “Our results indicate that too much sunbathing while pregnant may have detrimental effects on the fetus’ survival and subsequent reproductive performance,” says study co-author Gine Roll Skjærvø, a biologist at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, Norway. The scientists are particularly concerned about light-skinned people who moved to warmer climates with lots of sun, because they seem to be lacking some sort of protective skin adaptations (so beware, Yankee expats in Costa Rica).

The researchers didn’t mince words: “The conclusion of our study is that you should not sunbathe if you are pregnant and want to have a lot of grandchildren,” they write. And while this doesn’t necessarily apply to women who want to get pregnant in the next few years, it may be advice worth heeding for those currently trying to conceive. However, Skjærvø did agree that broad-spectrum UV protection may help negate these sinister effects. As if we needed yet another reason to wear sunscreen.